BHP Backs Off Spending Plans

By

Rhiannon Hoyle

Updated May 16, 2012 12:57 p.m. ET

SYDNEY—BHP Billiton Ltd. backed away from ambitious plans to invest around $80 billion on new mining projects by 2015.

BHP, which is the world's biggest coking-coal miner by volume and a top producer of copper, iron ore, nickel, and silver, said early last year that it intended to pour tens of billions of dollars into new projects, including potash mining in Canada, the Escondida copper mine in Chile and iron-ore production in...